Part One – The Terminal
Looking back, he had spoken only three sentences to her, and that was the first. They had written back and forth for quite some time, starting when she sent him a message on a popular fetish website. They had seemed to click quickly and well, talking about things both mundane and fantastic, and he had a knack for finding out things about her that she hadn't even known herself.
The phone call she received before they met was not from him personally, but rather "her Handler". An assistant, friend, servant, or submissive of his... she was never told which, and it didn't really matter in the end. They had discussed the travel plans, (oddly enough) the layout of her hotel room and its bathroom, what she could expect and should not expect, and various other minutia. The last thing Handler had told her was that her safe word was to be, "Magenta." She was to bring only one plastic baggy with her, which she was to refer to as "her safety", containing a cell-phone, identification, and money and/or credit card. Upon speaking the safe word she would immediately be released, dressed, and taken safely back to the Terminal. There would be no further discussion or play after that. That is how his Mentor had taught him, how his Mentor had been taught, and so on.
She arrived at the Terminal at 9:07pm. She was tired, as she had not been able to sleep the night before, and was told not to sleep during the trip. She was dirty, as she had not been allowed to shower or clean herself for that same period of time. She had on no make-up, her hair was not fixed, her nail polish was chipped and uneven. She felt like she looked a complete mess.
In their exchanges, she had revealed (rather, he had revealed, and she had expressed after) a deep desire to be reshaped, reformed, & renewed. He had told her that any artists' idea is to start with a blank canvas or unblemished block of marble...but when one chooses to rebuild, one must break something down to its essence and start with the basics. He would do so, but only on his own terms.
Her phone beeped, and she looked in the bag to see that she had a voicemail. It contained only four simple words. "Your Safe word is Magenta." She could not later explain why, but she played the message over and over again. It sent a tingle through her. After she had heard it thoroughly, she closed the phone and placed it back in the bag. She looked up, and knew him instantly.